1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to electronic luggage locking devices and, more particularly, pertains to a new method for providing passenger's luggage information to the airline for optimizing its baggage handling system as well as easing of passenger's baggage identification and reclaim.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Luggage zipper combination locks and keyed padlocks are well known as indispensable components of a typical luggage or travel bag providing luggage owner the most basic form of securing personal belongings within the luggage during a trip. However, it's functional and security performances have not been keeping up with changes of modern society especially the emergence of new technologies and having increasing mobile worldwide air travelers. For decades, these ‘age-old’ combination digit-wheel dial lock and keyed padlocks have become outdated and indisputably cumbersome to use with doubtful security, particularly due to frequently experiencing losing keys, mechanical structure constraining for small wheel-dials, difficult to read tiny engraved-digit size, easily forgotten 3-digits unlocking code, and risk of code being cracked in seconds.
Recent smart luggage known to employ global positioning system (GPS) to locate luggage position. In fact, current commercial GPS technologies are unable to reliably detect an object/item when it is located inside a building or stored in a metal container/truck. For example, satellite signal of automobile GPS navigation system often fails to indicate the direction whenever the car is driven into a tunnel.
In addition to foregoing shortcomings described for those luggage locks, there has been a need for an electronic luggage system operated by an electronic identification device with characteristics as follows: easy and simplicity to use, faster speed to gain access, increased efficiency in accessing luggage information such as its physical dimension, detail contents, weight, luggage owner's name, address and contact information, adjacent safeguard, vicinity notification, and identification of a luggage, airport baggage tracking and locating a luggage, very low battery power consumption, able to conveniently interact with airline and airport systems and relative inexpensive construction.
Present invention is concerned with a smart luggage incorporated with an electronic luggage locking device and intelligent baggage handling system employing sensors and electronic proximity communication technology. In particular, the invention relates to electronic luggage lock and in combination with luggage owner's smart devices and also parties within airline luggage handling systems e.g. an airport and airline facilities, to form an unitary intelligent baggage handling system.
The Author's earlier patent WO 2011149424 A1 disclosed “an electronic combination lock” for luggage which resolves numerous shortcomings associated with when using traditional mechanical locks employing digit-wheel combination wheel-dial locks and keyed padlocks.
The followings additional patents on electronic luggage combination lock, container lock and baggage handling method are believed to have relevance to the invention: U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,540, U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,889 B1, WO 2001025864 A1, U.S. Pat. App. no. 20130264128, WO 2013154692 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,226 A, U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,979 A, U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,862 A, U.S. Pat. No. 7,021,537 B2, U.S. Pat. No. 7,036,728 B2, U.S. Pat. No. 4,931,789, U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,776, U.S. Pat. No. 3,754,164, U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,862 A, U.S. Pat. No. 8,635,891 B1, U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,718, U.S. Pat. No. 8,161,781 B2, U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,277 A, U.S. Pat. No. 5,886,644 A, U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,561 A, U.S. Pat. No. 8,630,537 B2, U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,017 A, U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,771 A, U.S. Pat. No. 5,892,441 A, U.S. Pat. No. 6,483,434 B1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,988,610 B2, WO 2000019392 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 5,847,656 A, U.S. Pat. No. 8,531,290B2.
However, there are needs to make present traveler's luggage becomes smarter providing greater convenient to the increasingly mobile worldwide travelers for securing a luggage and its contents during a trip while simultaneously ensuring the effectiveness of air transport systems and custom authorized personnel to speedily identify, track and gain access to luggage contents for enhancing air, sea and land travel safety, security and efficiency. To address these weaknesses and pressing needs described in the foregoing, the inventor proposes a smart electronic luggage device and an intelligent baggage handling method which provides the public, air transport institutions e.g. airlines, airports, transport security administration (TSA), international air transport association (IATA) and international civil aviation organization (ICAO) with a useful choice.